Can-washing machine



W. H. PAULSON.' CAN WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED M AY22,1920- Patented Sept. 20,1921;

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W. H. PAULSON.

I, CAN WASHING MACHINE. 1 APPLICATION FILED MAY'22, 1920.

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Patented Sept. 20, 1921.

W. H. PAULSON. CAN WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22, 1920.

Patented Spt. 20,1921.

9 SHE EIS SHEEI 3.

In yen for.

iVilrzesses.

M M m W H. PAULSUN.

CAN WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION mu) MAY 22, 1920.

PatentedSept. 20,1921.

9 SHEETS SHEET 4.

W. H. PAULSON.

CAN WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man MAY 22.1920.

Patented Sept. 20, 1921.

9SHEETSSHEEI 6.

aQ-dQa.

W. H. PAULSON.

CAN WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22. 1920.

1,391,141. PatentedSept. 20, 1921.

9 SHEETS-SHtET 7.

fiy/ W Wit/165566.

W. H. PAULSON.

CAN WASHING MACHINE..

APPLICATION FILYED MAY 22. 1920.

1,391,141. PatentedSept. 20,1921, 9 $HEEI$-SHEE T 8.

i I 7z Wt'f/z eases 1 hive/z to r w. H. PAULSON. CAN WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22,'l920.

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WALTER n. raunson, or CHICAGO, iLLiNOIS, ASSIGNOR TO HARRY n. hammer, on

CHICAGO,

can-wnsiains MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, l/VALTER H. PAULsoN, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of the city of Chicago, county of Cook, and State oflllinois, have invented certain new 1 and useful Improvements in GaulVashing Machines, of which the following is a specification. i

My invention relates to improvements in can washing machines,'and hasfor its ob ject the provision of animproved machine of this characterespecially adapted, for icecream cans and the like. lh'e invention is ofsimple construction and eliicient in.use. Other objects will appearhereinafter.

The invention consists in the combinations parts hereinafter de--through the;

chine,

Fig. 3, a view similar to l3ig. 1, outta-ken through the lower rearportion of themachine, g v 1 Fig. 4, a view similar toaFigJQQbuttakenthrough the lower forward portion Fof the machine, L

' Fig. 5, a horizontal section of the rear end of the machine, r a

' Fig. 6, a horizontal sectionof the forward end of the machine,

Fig. '5, a rear end View of the machine,

8, a vertical section taken through the rear end of the machine andlooking for wardly, and

Fig. 9, a vertical section taken through the forward end of the machinelooking rearwardly. I

The preferredform or" construction, as illustrated in the drawings,comprises a suitable tank 10 of large size and consider able depth,- andadapted and, arranged to contain a considerable volume of washing fluid,consisting of hot water and washing soda. Arranged in the tank 10 is anendless chain conveyer, consisting of two parallel sprocket chainsarranged and adapted to travel substantially vertically adjacent therear wall of the tank '10, and then to travel chine.

upper forwarder delivery end of the ma- ILLINOIS.

Specification of Lettersiatent. yate t d t, 29, 1921 1920'. seriarno.383.333.-

substantially horizontally along the bottom of said tank throughout theportion 12. The sprocket chains d-l12 are arranged to travelovefisuitable guide sprockets l3 and 14, the guide sprockets 13 at theextreme for: ward end of the machine being mounted on atransverse shaft13, and the guide sprockets 1 atthe rear portion of the tank beingmounted on a transverse driving shaft 15. The shaft 15. is eqhipped witha large driving pulley 16 connected by belt 17 with a small pulley 18 oncounter-shaft, "19 at the rear upper portion of the frame of the ma- Theshaft 19 is connected by a system of reducing gears and shaftswith'thedrive shaft 21 of an ordinary centrifugal blower ment it will beobserved that thesprocket .chains 11+12 will be caused to travelconstantly in the directions indicated by the f arrows on Figs. 3

The sprocket/ chains ll-l2carry suitable cross-bars 24 in the form (ifangle irons, and conveying fingers 25 and 25" are mounted on saidcross-bars to project at substantially right angles to the sprocketchains. The fingers 25 are spaced considerably apart, as they aredesigned to feed or "carry the cans, while the fingers 25 are spacedcloser together as they are designed to carry or convey the'lids orcovers on, the cans. Guide slatsare arranged at 26 adjacent the rear endoftank '10 and pass thenceat 27 along the bottom of said tank and areturned upwardly at 29 at the forward end of the tank, said guide slatscooperating with the fingers 25 and 25 to feed or carry the ice-creamcans or lids 28 downwardly at the rear, then rolling. said cans of lidsalong the bottom ofthe tank andelevating them at'the front andreturning'them to the rear portion of the tank, as will be re'adlyunderstood. An inclined can support or chute 30. is arranged at th rearend of the top of tank 1-0, and is of a size to support a numberof cansand can lids, which, being round, will tend to roll down said chute orsupport into the .tank. The support 30 is provided with side boards orblades 31, and with an intermediate guide partition 32, as bestindicated in Fig, 5, to provide a comparatively wide chute 31"for thecans and a comparatively narrow chute 32' for the lids 01' covers. Asbest shown in Figs. 3 and 5, a rocker shaft 33 is located under the cansupport 30, ad-

jacent its juncture with the tank 10, and provided with stop leaves orblades 34 and 35 projecting therefromat right angles to each other,--theshaft 33 being located immediately under suitable openings in thesupport 30 and operating therethrough, the

blades 34 serving to stop the lowermost cans and lids and release thesame by forward ment is such that as the endless conveyer 1112 travelsthrough the tank, each crossbar 24, engaging the bell crankarm 39, rockssaid bell crank to'rock the blades 34 forwardly and downwardly and theblades 35 upwardly and forwardly. This action re- .leases the lowermostcan and can lid, stopping the next can and can lid, and permits thereleased can and can lid to roll into the tank 10, the mechanism beingtimed to cause the released cans and can lids to roll immediately uponthe set of supporting fingers 25-25 immediately preceding the bar 24which tripped the rocker shaft 33. Immediately following this action,the corresponding end 40 engages the stop 37 and restores the parts toinitial positions, thus permitting the cans and can lids' to roll downthe support 30 until the lowermost rest against the stop blades 34, whenthe operation is observed that a number of cans and can lids may beplaced upon the support 30 and automatically fed into the machine andthen carried downwardly to the bottom thereof and rolled along thebottom in the washing or soaking compound in tank 10, to the forward endof the 'machine- At the forward end of the machine, the cans and lidsare elevated by the combined action of the fingers 25 and 25' and theguide slats 29, and carried back to the rear portion of the machine, butstill submerged in the water of tank 10. The speed of operation of themachine is slow, so that the cans and lids are thus subjected to aprolonged preliminary soaking or washing operation, during a part ofwhich time the cans and lids are rolled or agitated in the washingfluid, and thus the dirt and grease adhering thereto loosened andsoftened, and in part removed, the water in tank 19 being kept in aheated condition, as will more fully appear hereinafter.

Another endless convcyer 41. is arranged immediately above and parallelto the horizontal portion of conveyer 11-12, said conveyer 41 consistingof two parallel sprocket chains passing over suitable sprockets ontransverse shafts 42 and 43 at the forward and rear ends of the tank 10and located above the top thereof. As best shown in Fig. 9, shaft 42carries a gear 44 meshing with a gear 45 on a stud shaft 46, said gear45 being connected by a sprocket chain 47 with a shaft 13, whereby theconveyer 41 will be driven in the direction of the arrows appearing onFigs. 2, 3' and 4. The conveyer 41 is provided with cross-bars or angles48, carrying feed fingers 49 and 49 arranged substantially as are thefingers 25 and 25' and cooperating therewith, and with guide slats 48 atthe rear, to elevate the cans and lids out of the washing compound intank 10 and carry the same forwardly. Side boards 50 and 51 are arrangedin tank 10 to cooperate with the fingers on the conveyers to hold thecans and lids in place, as best indicated in Figs. 4 and 9. Side boards52 and 53 also coiiperate with the fingers 49 and 49 to hold the cans inplace during their forward travel above the level of washing fluid intank 10. A suitable discharge platform 53 is arranged at the forward endof tank-10 and projects rearwardly between the fingers 49 and 49"sufficiently to automatically discharge the washed cans and lids, asindicated. Suitable spraying or jet nozzles 54 and 55 are arranged'atone side of the positioned outwardly. There are three of the jets ornozzles 54 and two of the nozzles 55, as shown. As best shown in Figs.5, 6

and 9, the nozzles 54 are connected by branch repeated as aboveoutlined. Thus, it will be pipes 56 with a horizontalsupply pipe 56connected by a supply pipe 57 with a suitable pump, not'shown. Afeed'pipe 58 is connected with the central portion of tank 10 and alsoleads to said pump, not shown, and whereby washing fluid from tank 10 isconstantly supplied to the jets or nozzles 54 under pressure, to beinjected in the form of sprays, into the open ends of the cans as theypass said jets ornozzles. A pipe 59 leads from the pipe 56 over theframe of the machine to a horizontal supply pipe 60 on th other sidethereof. The supply pipe (30 is connected by a branch pipe 61 with threespraying heads or nozzles 62, adapted and arranged to similarly directsprays of said washing fluid into the open ends of the lids of the canswhich are arranged with their open ends outwardly. Owing to the positionof the cans and lids as they pass the spraying nozzles or heads 54 and62, the

washing fluid employed will run immediately a 55, and whereby sprays orjets of clean hot rinsing water are injected into the open ends of thecans. The hot water. thus used in rinsing, also drains into the tank 10,serv-' ing to keep upthe temperature thereof and constantly supply thesame with a fresh supply of water, which will gradually serve to changethe'water used inthe preliminary soaking and washing.

An overflow 66, in the form of a forward offset, is provided at theupper forward por-' tion of tank 10, and a ,suitable'drain pipe v 67leads therefrom, said overflow thus serving to constantly carry offthe'excess of water from the tank '10., As most of the dirt andimpurities in the ice-cream cans consists of grease or butter fat, thesame will rise to the top of the water in said tank and thus be drainedor automatically skimmed therefrom, which tends to keep the-supply inthe tank sufiiciently fresh and clean for the purpose. At suitableintervals, a suitable supply of washing soda, 'or other suitablechemical, is added to the water in the tank 16 to compensate for thatwhich is constantly being-withdrawn therefrom in this overflow. providedat the bottom of the tank, so that said-tank may be drainedwhen desired,but the pipe 6'? is normally kept closed.

As best shown inil ig. 9, a suitable'guideway 68 is provided along theupper side portion of the frame-work of the machine,

adapted to accommodate mold forms 69 rdinarily used in molding bricks ofice-cream.

Said mold forms 69 are placed in theguide.

way 68" in inverted positions and pushed therethroug h by hand, suitableopenings being. provided in the tops of the spraying heads or nozzles 62and 63 to permit the escape of suitable spraysfor this purpose, andwhereby the mold forms for ice-cream bricks may be washed or scouredwhen desired. I v

Air nozzles 70 are arranged on opposite sides of the conveyer 41 to"project blasts of hot air inwardly into the open ends of the cans andlids as they pass. The air nozzles 70 are supplied. through branch pipes71 leading from a heating drum 72 located on the top of-the frame of themachine, and communicating with the blower 22, as indicated, and wherebythe cans and lids are thoroughly dried by blasts of hot air before theyare discharged onto the discharge platform 53. From the dischargeplatform the cleaned and dried cans are removed by hand, or otherwise,as desired.

By this arrangement it will be observed Another drain pipe 67' is also,

that the cans and their lids are carried through the machine injuXta-position to each other, so as notto'become misplaced.

In passing through the machine, the cans and lids are first subjected toa prolonged preliminary soaking in the hot Washing fluid in the tank10', so that the .dirt, grease,

and other vcontaminations are'loo'sened and inpart removed, which actionis greatly aided by therolling action of the cans and lids in the bottomof the tank. Then the cans and lids are subjected .to a preliminarywashing under forced jets'or sprays of the hot washing fluid from tank10, thus completely removing any dirt, grease or other impuritiestherein, or thereon. The cans and lids are then thoroughlyrinsed withfresh hot rinsing water and then dried by blasts of air before beingautomatically discharged. In this way, the cans and lids are thoroughlycleaned and dried, with great ex pedition and efiiciency. z

While I have illustrated and described. the preferred form ofconstruction for carrying my. invention into effect, this is capable ofvariation andmodification without departing from the spirit of theinvention. 1, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precisedetails of construction set forth, but

desire to avail myself of such variations and modifications as comewithin the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my inventionJwhat I claim as new and desire to securebylaetters Patent is -1. A can washing machine embodying a tank; aconveyer passing through said tank and then over the top thereof; meansat one side of said conveyer for supporting cans .thereon with thelropen sides outwardly; means on the oppos1te side of said conveyer. forsupporting can lids thereon thereof; means at one side of said conveyerfor supporting cans thereon with their open sides outwardly; means onthe opposite side of said conveyer for supporting can lids thereon withtheir open sides outwardly; and means at each side-of said conveyer fordirecting washing fluid into said cans and lids, substantially asdescribed.

3. A washing machine comprising a tank;

I a conveyer having a tortuous to and fro path through said tank andthen passing over the top thereof and washing means cooperat-- ing withsaid conveyer during its travel above said tank, substantially asdescribed.

4. A washing machine comprising a tank; a conveyer passing downwardlyinto said tank adjacent one end thereof, thence along the bottom thereofand then upwardly into a higher plane and back to a position adjacentthe entry end of said tank, and finally upwardly and across the top ofsaid tank above the normal fluid level thereof; and washing meanscooperating with said conveyer during 'its travel above said tank,

' substantially as described.

6. A washing machine comprising a tank; a conveyer arranged to carrycansdownwardly into. said tank adjacent one end thereof, thence along thebottom thereof, and then elevate and return said cans in said tankabovethe first path of travel, and finally elevate and carry the cans acrossthe top of said tank; means for forcing jets of washing fluid into saidcans during their travel over the top of said conveyer; and

an overflow for said tank, substantially as described. v

7. A washing machlne comprising a tank; an endless chain conveyerarranged in said .tank to carry cans downwardly adjacent one end of thetank and then roll said cans across the bottom of said tank, and thenelevate said cans into a higher plane and carry them back toward theentry end of the tank;

. a second endless chaln conveyer arranged above the horizontal portionof said firstmentioned conveyer, and adapted and arranged to elevatesaid cans therefrom and carry said cans horizontally across the top ofsaid tank above the normal fluid level therein; a plurality of jetnozzles arranged along one side of said. upper conveyer; means forwithdrawing washing fluid from said tank and forcing the same throughone set of said nozzles into cans on said conveyer; means for forcingfresh rinsing fluid through the other set of jet nozzles into cans onsaid upper conveyer; and means for forcing a blast of hot air into saidcans, substantially as described.

8. A washing machine. comprising a tank; a conveyer arranged tocarrycans and can lids through said tank and then over the top thereof;a plurality of jet nozzles arranged on opposite sides of said conveyerabove said tank, and arranged and adapted to direct jets of fluid tosaid conveyer in opposite directions means for withdrawing wash ingfluid from said tank and forcing the same through ajet nozzle on eachside of said conveyer; means for forcing fresh rinsing fluid through ajeton each side of said conveyer; means for forcing a blast of hot airto said conveyer from each side thereof;

an overflow 'for said tank; and means for automatically feeding cans andcan lids to said conveyer, substantially as described.

, 9. A washing machine comprising a tank; a conveyer arranged to carrycans downwardly' into said tank adjacent one end thereof, thence alongthe bottom thereof and then elevate and return said cans in said tankabove the first path of travel and finally to carry the cans across thevtop of said tank; and means for washing said cans during their travelover the top of said tank, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

WALTER H. PAULSON.

Witnesses:

JOSHUA R. H. Por'rs,

Rose K. TRIB.

